Research On The Discourse Of Anti-intellectualism In Science Communication

Anti-intellectualism has always existed in the process of China's social and historical development,permeating into politics,literature,religion and other fields.In different social environments,anti-intellectualism also presents different phenomena and characteristics.In the Internet era,free and open social media platforms endows the public with unprecedented discourse power and provides a breeding ground for the spread of anti-intellectualism.At present,the anti-intellectualism has already developed into a grand carnival,which brings all Internet users to the extreme of anti-rationality and anti-elite.Unconsciously,science communication is also covered by the cloud of anti-intellectualism.A WeChat push can trigger a salt rush,a documentary can make the remnants of the world anti-vaccine campaign rise up in China,and a sentence of "People can't eat anything that insects don't eat" can destroy the achievements of genetically modified science popularization for many years.The diffusion and infiltration of anti-intellectualism hinder the effective development of science communication and the improvement of public scientific literacy.In the field of science communication,genetically modified is one of the most popular and controversial scientific issues in recent years.In this study,the articles related to GM from WeChat Public Platform are used as the source of analysis samples.Besides,this study takes anti-intellectualism discourses of GM as the research object for critical discourse analysis,combining with the current social context,in order to investigate the construction of anti-intellectualism discourses in science communication.It is found that anti-intellectualists have raised the banner of anti-GM without understanding the scientific connotation and core issues of GM,anti-intellectualism discourses refuse to discuss transgenic issue as a scientific issue,and take morality and ethics as the core of discourses.In terms of discourse strategies,anti-intellectualism discourses often use emotional expression to provoke the readers'doubt and dissatisfaction with GM,and use pseudoscientific packaging to cheat the readers' trust.In addition,anti-intellectualism discourses are also connected with nationalist discourses,traditional Chinese medicine culture,religion and other contexts.Finally,anti-intellectualism discourses eliminate the readers' trust in the expert system,establish their own "authority" and "credibility",and hinder the readers' acceptance and identification of GM.The reasons why anti-intellectualism discourses in science communication can win the market are closely related to the trust crisis of science community and public institutions in the risk society,the redistribution of social discourse power brought by the booming development of social media and the absence of science discourses in media communication.As for the anti-intellectualism phenomenon in science communication,we don't need to panic too much and should treat the inevitability and rationality of the anti-intellectualism rationally.In the future,the government,the scientific community,the media and the public need to make joint efforts to promote the development of science communication,enhance public scientific literacy and rational thinking ability,and create a good social atmosphere that respects knowledge and advocates intelligence.